The academic component of the Honors
Program consists of colloquia and seminars
designed to challenge the mind and engage the
soul.

For 50 years, Gonzaga University has offered
an Honors Program for intellectually gifted
and highly motivated students to enhance
their Gonzaga education with small, dynamic
seminars across the liberal arts curriculum.
In addition, annual Honors colloquia address
issues of contemporary society, religion,
and culture where the focus is on personal
application of classroom learning to real-world
problems. Study abroad opportunities during
junior year further broaden students’ horizons
and immerse them in the emergent global
village. Students complete the program in
their senior year by writing an interdisciplinary
research thesis. In short, the Honors Program
offers bright students the opportunity to
discover their world and learn their own calling
within it.

Honors colloquia examine the social,
religious, and cultural dimensions of
contemporary life. The emphasis in the colloquia
is less on learning information than on personal
appropriation. Each colloquium is a three-credit
lecture course.
The Freshman Colloquium studies marginal
populations in and around Spokane. Groups
studied include the working poor, the homeless,
refugees, American Indians, victims of domestic
violence, the LGBT community, returning war
veterans, the mentally ill, the developmentally
disabled—a different population every week.
The course includes a 20-hour service-learning
component. Students typically work with one
service agency over the course of the semester
and may build on the service work they have
already done or try something new. Every week
the class discusses readings, brings in a local
activist, and breaks into small groups to discuss
how this population shows up in students’
placements and in their hometowns.
The Sophomore Colloquium is a study of the
history of American Christianity. This course
considers questions about just what religion
is (and isn’t), how Christianity has adapted
to the American context, and how American
culture has been shaped by Christianity. The
United States was the first country to establish
religious freedom, which has, over time, created
a rich and fascinating variety of sects and

churches. It has also been a fertile ground for
the emergence of new Christian movements,
including Revivalism, Pentecostalism,
Mormonism, and Christian Science, among
many others. It has also seen the rise (and
sometimes fall) of charismatic religious
entrepreneurs. We will also be looking at how
Christianity adapted to new communications
media like radio, television, and the Internet.
The Junior Colloquium studies the philosophy of
technology. It begins by exploring how orality,
literacy, and now cyberspace and social media
shape our reasoning, our relationships, and
our identity. The course then looks at a variety
of approaches to the relationship between
technology and its users, from technological

neutrality to technological determinism, with
some other approaches in-between. It then
turns to address these perspectives to several
recent technological developments, especially
virtual technologies.
Finally, the Senior Colloquium involves writing a
40-page interdisciplinary Honors thesis, relying
on oral, verbal, and research skills developed
in the earlier colloquia. Topics can come from a
student’s major or involve something completely
different. Thesis projects can also have a
creative, performative component.
Honors Seminars build on the liberal arts core
of the wider University. Classes are structured
as small, highly interactive, writing-intensive
seminars. The particular course requirements
listed below are further tailored to the needs
and schedule of the individual student. Faculty
for Honors seminars are chosen from among
the best teachers at the University. What
follows is the full Honors Core Curriculum for
students in the College of Arts & Sciences,
School of Business Administration, and School
of Education. Engineering, Nursing, and Human
Physiology majors take a somewhat reduced
Core due to the number of classes required for
their major.
Philosophy: There are four Honors Philosophy
seminars: Critical Thinking, Philosophy of
Human Nature, Ethics, and Philosophy of
Technology.
Literature: There are three Honors English
literature seminars: a two-semester survey of
world literature and a final literary seminar on a
topic of special interest to a given professor.

Social Science: Students choose two courses from
the following departments: Psychology, Sociology &
Criminal Justice, Economics, and Political Scienc.
History: Two History courses are required, including
an Honors seminar on the rise of modernity.
Religious Studies: There are three Religious Studies
courses in the Core. Two are Honors seminars: one
in scripture and another in the history of American
Christianity. The third is a Religious Studies elective
course.
Fine Arts: Honors students are required to take six
credits in Music, Art, Theatre Arts, or Dance. Credits
can be in theory, history, or performance courses.
Speech: An Honors Rhetoric seminar introduces
students to communication strategies in oral, print,
and electronic media.
Foreign Language: Students are expected to take
the equivalent of two years in a modern language or
one year of Ancient Greek or Latin.
Finally, Honors students are also strongly encouraged
to study abroad for at least a semester during their
junior year. The Honors Program offers a number of
study abroad options catering to every possible area
of study, including the humanities, engineering, the
sciences, and business. In addition to the wide array
of study abroad programs available to all Gonzaga
students, Honors students can study anywhere in
the world for a semester with all of their financial aid
following them.

STUDENT LIFE
One of the most popular features of the Honors
Program is Hopkins House, a place where Honors
students can rest and relax, as well as study in both
individual and group settings. Hopkins is a residential
home with a living room, a fully-equipped kitchen,
several study rooms, and even a nice keyboard for the
musically inclined. Hopkins is accessible for Honors
students 24/7.
Students particularly value the small, face-to-face
quality of Honors classes. With 20 to 25 students
entering each year, Honors students get to know
everyone else in their own class, and over time,
they become well acquainted with students from
other years as well. To that end, the Honors Program

sponsors a number of social gatherings and weekend
outings. This begins with a weekend getaway in early
September, followed by seasonal parties and a second
weekend away in the spring.
The Honors Program also cultivates a sense of civic
responsibility and a value for service. In addition to
the service-learning component of the Freshman
Colloquium, Honors students are usually involved in
service programs at the University and in the wider
Spokane community. Many Honors students have also
been involved in theatre, choir, music ensembles, and
the student newspaper. Others have played important
roles in University Ministry retreat programs and New
Student Orientation.
While most Honors students go on to pursue advanced
degrees, a substantial number enter full-time service
programs upon graduation like Jesuit Volunteer Corps,
Peace Corps, and Teach for America.

ADMISSION
Admission to Gonzagaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Honors Program is highly
competitive. Acceptance is based on test scores, GPA,
extracurricular interests and involvements, service
work, letters of recommendation, a personal interview,
and a brief, creative essay. Normally, students should
have either a minimum SAT score of 1350 (CR+M) or
30 on the ACT and a GPA over 3.7 in a rigorous high
school curriculum. Admission to the Honors Program is
available only to incoming freshmen.
Honors applications should be submitted electronically
or postmarked no later than February 1. A student with
a completed Honors application may be invited to the
second phase of the admission process: an interview
in person or by phone with the Program Director
and three current Honors students. Interviews are
conducted in the last half of March. Notification of
acceptance into the Program is sent at the beginning
of April.
All students who apply to the Honors Program must
also submit a regular Gonzaga University Application
for Admission by February 1. Acceptance to the
Program presupposes a complete and successful
application to the University itself.

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Math and Science: Students are expected to take a
calculus course, a lab science, and one additional math
or science course.